Of Dogs and Cats
by VampireHunterSephiroth200
Summary: For lack of a better title. Kiba and his pack discover that Paradise doesn't just have wolves. And not everyone there has always been a beast. Once a resident of the place Kiba meets an aquantence of opposite nature. SPOILERS
1. Life Beyond Death

Disclaimer: None of this is owned by present company...

He was tired, this white wolf, in his mouth he carried various items that were important to him. Two torn collars, four metal bands, a fighting knife, a multicolored handkerchief, and a bandage. Tears steamed down his wild face as he struggled against the harsh winter and his own wounds. He could do nothing but remember his eight companions. He remembered Hige and Tsume and Toboe and Cheza and Blue and Queant and Hubb and Cher. Though three of them were humans they were as good companions as could be. His human companions were just as precious to him as his canine companions. The old man; Quaent had spent a lot of time drinking, shooting, and blaming wolves for the death of his family. Hubb was a good person, there was no doubt in Kiba's mind that he could trust the detective after all he only wanted to be with his wife. Cher was Hubb's wife or ex-wife, either way it meant 'mate' to Kiba, all she wanted was to come to paradise or as close to it as possible.

It was the fault of Darcia. Many of Kiba's friends were dead now thanks to that evil creature. Hubb and Cher had died in accidents, Toboe was shot trying to protect Queant, the old man was shot trying to avenge his family and packmate, Hige was killed trying to defend the one he loved, and she was killed as well, Tsume died fighting Darcia with all his strength, Cheza had whithered from the wounds Darcia had given her, as for himself. Kiba could feel his time growing thin. Finally his strength gave way and he fell to the ground. With his last ounce of strength he clenched his teeth tighter around the items in his jaw. As he died he tried desperately hard to remember each and every friend.

His life faded away as a good song does. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of rain falling down on him, he just barely felt it. Then nothing, he felt nothing but a voice was calling him. No, not just one voice several and they were the voices of his packmates. They were so clear and yet so distant. "Kiba... Kiba... Wake up, Kiba... It's time to wake up..." they told him. His eyes cracked open slightly, all he saw was shady figures peering at him and a bright light behind them. He opened his eyes a little bit more, now all he could see were colored blurs that resembled people. Finally his eyes were all the way open, he found that he was sitting in a field of flowers surrounded by his pack. Except Cheza was missing. He sat up in his human form. He looked around then up at Hubb and Cher. "Where's Cheza?" he asked. "I don't know how to say this..." Hubb started. "You won't find her in this world..." Queant interrupted. "Hey old man, I was going to tell him!" Hubb snapped. "You were just standing there with you trap open, someone had to say something... You're never gonna' get anywhere by sugarcoating things like this!" the old man lectured. "Hey guys, I got two questions... One; how are we still alive, and two; how did we get here?" Toboe asked. "Pups..." Tsume replied exasperattedly. "I think it's outside our understanding and not meant for us to know..." Blue continued, "Right, Oujisan?" "Listen Blue, if you're going to call me that then I'm going to start acting like it..." Queant replied, "I'm not your father or anything of the sort... If you need someone to take care of you that badly then ask that fat mutt, he seems to like you..."

While they were all talking it was getting dark and clouds were moving in. "Com'n, I think we should find a cave to sleep in tonight..." Kiba insisted. To the rest of the pack even the humans he was the pack leader. When they found a nice cave they settled in and prepared to go to sleep. It surprised Kiba to no end when he saw Queant, Hubb, and Cher also became wolves. Queant had dull grey fur with numerous scratches all over him, Hubb was a bright gold color with a white belly and a puffy tail, and Cher was a shimmering gold color and she was completely covered in it, like Hubb she had a bushy tail but unlike him her gold fur was far brighter. He watched as his packmates began to fall asleep one by one. Hige and Blue huddled up together just as Hubb and Cher. This made him think of Cheza, but there was something else that came to mind when he thought of her, or rather someone else. He tried hard to remember her as he fell asleep. The next morning he awoke to someone shaking him, when he opened his eyes he saw Hubb back in his human form holding him. "What?" he growled groggily. "There was a cave-in, we're trapped... What should we do?" he replied. "Is incompetence a human trait?" he asked sarcastically. Toboe and Tsume walked up. "This cave goes on for miles, we could try to find a way out... It beats staying here and dying... Again..." Tsume reported. "Alright... Get ready, we're going through the cave..." Kiba announced.

Kiba walked through the cave in silence, but the rest of the pack chatted away. Except Queant he chose to stay close to Kiba. "Why don't you talk with the others?" Kiba asked him at one point. "I don't wanna' talk right now..." the old man replied. So Kiba, Tsume, and Queant all walked in silence while the others chatted and talked away. No one knows what brought it about, but Cher brought up a topic that was off limits. "Hubb, I want to have puppies!" she told him loud enough to cause a cave-in. "Yeah, that's just what we need more little kids runnin' around..." Hige laughed, "Hold off on gettin' any pups until the one we have grows out of his diapers..." "That's not funny, Hige!" Toboe barked. "No, it's hilarious..." the wolf nicknamed 'Whiskers' replied. "I think I'm going to be sick..." Tsume gagged.

Something stopped Hige. "What's wrong?" Blue asked. "I smell fresh air and water..." Hige answered. "Whiskey?" Queant asked. "No alcohol..." the young wolf responded. "Damn..." the eldest cussed. They all followed Hige right out of the cave, in front of them a short distance away was the water, a spring full of fresh and clear water. From a distance they could see a small town. Hige looked at the figure of the distant town with a puzzled face, he couldn't smell any signs of civilization. "Didn't you once say you could smell dog crap from a mile away?" Kiba asked. "Yes," the annoyed wolf replied. "Can't you smell that town down there?" Kiba teased. Hige growled and stormed off followed shortly by Blue. Kiba looked around at the rest of the pack. "Take a break everyone, we'll rest here tonight and start towards town by morning..." he commanded. Toboe just went strait to sleep, Hubb and Cher stayed in one spot overlooking the spring in their human forms talking, Queant and Tsume had gone off hunting, of course Hige and Blue had gone off to be alone, leaving him to his thoughts. His head was swimming, why couldn't he keep focused about the matter at hand? Find Cheza, that should be the only reason behind what he's doing. Yet something from his long journey, something other than Cheza, is calling out to him.


	2. Kiba's Acquantence

Kiba stared at the town all through the night. He didn't sleep even after the rest of his pack was. Something in that town was calling out to him. He could hear it, feel it, and see it to such a extent that it was painful. That was part of the insomnia. The light and noise that was coming from whatever it was that was calling him was so loud and so bright he couldn't sleep. "It's not Cheza, what is it? It's calling me, why is it calling me? I can't sleep... Can these other guys hear this thing? Can they feel it? Can they see it?" he pondered anooyedly. He finally managed a few hours of uneasy sleep before they set out the next morning.

The pack started towards the town early, which was quite unfortunate for Kiba. "Kiba-nichan, doushite?" Toboe asked. "I'm fine..." he growled shaking off an obnoxious bout of exhaustion. The arrival in town answered a few questions for the traveling pack. "No wonder I couldn't smell the town it has no scent..." Hige mused. "Odd, why would a town have no scent...?" Cher pondered alound as she sniffed the air. "No, the town has a scent... It's just faint and not that of humans..." Hige said sniffing the air, "I smell wolves, and dogs, and what the hell?" "What is it?" Tsume asked. "It smells of cats, not just cats, lynx and bobcats!" Hige growled. "Paradise has cats? I hate cats..." Toboe mumbled. "Yeah, well we're not too fond of mutts, either, mate..." I cat with a British accent in human form replied as he walked by. It was at that moment Kiba knew who he was looking for. "Split off, guys... Meet up at the inn..." Kiba told them. "Which inn?" the old man asked. "The closest to the edge of town..." Kiba growled in frustration. Hige and Blue went off to find something to eat, Toboe and Tsume just went to walk around, Hubb and Cher went to find a nice relaxing place to relax, and Queat went to the bar.

Kiba just started following his sences, likely they would lead him strait to the person he was looking for. "She's close, I can feel it..." he thought. Finally standing before him was the woman he sought; she had short light brown hair, a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. She was talking to another lynx. "I'm telling you, we have no choice, Myu... We have to leave town or fight!" he argued. "I'm against it! I know there's a small chance, but we have to believe there's a way for us all to live in peace..." she argued. The older male lynx huffed and walked away, he casted a glare at Kiba as he did. "Your time will come soon canine..." he growled warningly at Kiba. "Fuck off..." Kiba growled back.

As soon as the lynx was gone he walked up to Myu. "Who was that guy?" he asked. "Oh him, that's Hakauryu... He's trying to start a militia merely on the hatred that most felines have for canines..." she explained, "On another note; it took you long enough to get here Kiba..." "Didn't I tell you to forget me?" Kiba asked her laughingly. "Well, yeah, but I've always had difficulties listening to what people tell me to do..." she retorted, "So, how was life with an unresponsive flower?" she asked jokingly. He took on a depressed look and stared at the ground. "Sorry, it's a sinsitive subject, I shouldn't have brought it up..." she apologized. "Wait, how did you know about Cheza?" he asked. "The plant was reading your thoughts, that's how I was able to interact with you..." she explained, "I was bonded to the plant until it whithered... After that my spirit was going to it's final resting place and she came along, and brought me to this world. She said you would be lonely..." He looked at her quizzically. He smiled slightly at her, and then started to walk away. A few moments later he turned and signaled for her to follow.

They walked through the town and everyone there stared in disgust. They didn't care that it discusted others by them being in each other's company. Just for a little bit more of a laugh he wrapped his, now human form arm, around her shoulders. This made people give an even more discusted look. He heard a few wolves and dogs call out something like "cat-lover" or "hey lover-boy find someone in your own species". None of the feline people made any comments. Eventually the two came to the inn Kiba's group would be staying at. Him and his "new" friend walked inside. "Do you have someplace to stay, Myu?" he asked. "No..." she said apologetically. "It's alright you can stay with my pack..." he replied. "Would that be alright with the rest of your pack?" she asked. "Don't worry; Queant will probably be too drunk to notice you for the first month or three, Hubb and Cher don't really care, Hige won't mind as long as he gets his next meal, Blue doesn't care about company, as long as your nice to Toboe he'll like you, the only person you really have to worry about is Tsume..." he explained.

After he confirmed that his friends had checked out one room and were already in it he took Myu to that room. His friends were sitting around in their wolf forms; Toboe was sitting in front of the TV, Tsume was watching the doings outside the hotel window, Hige was eating, Blue was sitting not too far from Hige, Cher was sniffing around in one spot, Hubb was watching her from his vintage point on one of the beds, and Queant had passed out during a drunken stupor. "Hey guys I'm back..." he announced. "Hi Kiba," Toboe said without looking up from the TV. Tsume took a quick glance from the window and went back to peering out the window. Hige looked at what he had been eating disappointedly after realizing there was nothing left, then turned his gaze to Kiba. "Hey buddy, what's with the kitten?" he asked. Blue looked uninterested but quickly disiplined Hige for his rude outburst. Cher looked up just to acknowledge Kiba's presence. Hubb gave a slight whimper to both acknowledge Kiba and show Cher he wanted company, she simply ignored him. Queant snored drunkly and turned over. "How many did he have?" Kiba asked. "He said he had a good 30 or so drinks..." Hubb replied. "Only?" Kiba asked. "According to him, and you know how reliable that information can be..." Hubb said shaking his head. "Oh, everyone this is my friend Myu she'll be with us for the time being..." he introduced. "Hello, pleased to meet you all..." she responded as politely as could be. "She's a lynx, are you nuts Kiba?" Hige asked looking very distressed, "What makes you think we want her?" Hige got slapped by Blue again. "Mind your manners, she's obviously trying very hard not to upset anyone... Show her some respect..." she lectured. "Alright, I'm sorry... It's just hard for me to get along with cats..." he apologized. "We better get some sleep soon..." Tsume told them all, "There will be no full moon tonight... We have to be at full energy tomorrow..." "Yeah, I don't want to stay in town any longer than I have to... Especially with some nutcase that wants cats to rule Paradise alone out there, no offense to present company..." Kiba explained. "None taken, but can I leave with you guys tomorrow?" Myu asked. "Why?" Toboe asked, "Why do you want to be around us, we might resort to eating you if we get hungry enough..." "I'd rather be eaten than spend another minute with the same loony that Kiba was talking about..." she trailed off growling silently. "Alright everyone, it's bedtime... Let's get some shut eye..." Kiba commanded and everyone curled up and went to sleep.


	3. Skippin' Town

The next morning Kiba had awoken before the rest of the pack. It was his reasoning that the leader of the pack must wake up first to ensure that all is well. He looked around the small hotel room. Toboe had passed out last night with the TV still on. He thought about this for a moment and then chuckled lightly. Typical pup, leaving the TV on before going to bed. He changed into his human form and walked up to the TV, he was about to turn it off when he heard a voice. "Hey! Hige no fair, that's my doughnut..." Toboe whined in his sleep. Kiba chuckled again quietly. Kiba turned off the TV and sat in the dull predawn light of the moon coming through the window. He was drifting back to sleep again when he heard a strange scratching noise from under the bed. He dropped to the ground and crept slowly and carefully under the bed. At first he couldn't see a thing, then after a moment his vision began to pick up everything under the bed, even the tiny little dust bunnies. He saw a little lynx scratching at the underside of the bed. "Hey!" he said once he had snuck close enough to her. She jumped and her claws went right into the underside of the bed. "Yow! Don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed startled. "Don't scratch at the underside of the bed, that matress could crush you..." he replied in a concerned voice. She righted herself and began to rub against his canine form purring. "D-don't do that..." he told her backing away. "Why not?" she asked cocking her head to show confusion. "I'm a wolf of canine descent, your a lynx of feline descent..." he told her sternly. "It doesn't matter to me..." she replied absently while staring at him. "W-why are you staring?" he asked nervously. "I can't get enough of looking at you, even in your wolf form you're still so handsome... Cheza was so lucky..." she replied, he could tell she was daydreaming. "S-stop staring at me like that!" he said in a shaking yet stern voice. She began to rub against him again and purr, she was enjoying herself but he was so tense every muscle in his body was tighted to a point where anymore pressure would cause his whole body to break down. He was tense to say the least, the fact that another person was stirring made him even more tense. Careful not to hurt her he slipped past her and came out from under the bed to see who it was.

As soon as he came out he noticed a blanket wrapped around Cher. Only one person showed that kind of care for her. Kiba could see the light on in the bathroom, ovbiously Hubb was in the bathroom. "More beer!" he heard the old man snore drunkly. At that moment Hubb walked out of the bathroom and noticed him awake. "Good morning, Kiba... Sleep well?" he asked. "As best I could..." Kiba responded. "Bathroom's all yours..." Hubb told him. "Thanks, I really have to go..." Myu said climbing out from under the bed and rushing to the bathroom. Kiba could tell Hubb was about to say something. "Save it, I'm not in the mood for any wise-cracks..." he commanded quietly and exasperatedly. They both heard a loud snoring and turned to see the old man. "He slept the whole night through..." Hubb said smiling. "Now I know he's had more than 30 drinks..." Kiba replied. Then came a loud grumbling sound. "Three... Two... One..." they both counted and Hige was up and around in a matter of moments. "Man am I hungry..." he whined as he woke up, "I had the craziest dream... I dreamed I was fighting with Toboe over a giant doughnut..."

Eventually the entire pack was up except Queant, he was still deep in his druken-sleep condition and had to be carried out of the inn. As the pack was leaving town there were less cats then when they entered the town. This made Kiba remember what that skruffy-looking bastard of a cat said to him the day before. Myu had called him Hakauryu, as if she could hear his thoughts she began. "I knew Hakauryu once... When I first got here, he was the first person I met, he used to be a nice guy... He didn't like canines but he respected them and thier right to live. Then one day he came home covering his left eye, something had happened to him and he's had an eye-patch over that eye ever since, since then he's been talking about revolutions and wars and chasing the canines out of Paradise..." she explained, "All the sensible felines know that canines and felines both belong in this world but he won't listen..." "There's only one thing to do about an asshole like that!" Tsume replied. "Beat the tar out of 'em..." Hige finished. "Wait a second, did you say his leftt eye?" Cher asked. "What's wrong?" Toboe and Blue asked. "Well, Darcia had an eye patch over his wolfen eye when he was in his human form..." Cher mused, "Is this merely a coincidence?" "Is it even possible?" Toboe wondered. "Of course not, this Hakauryu is a feline, Darcia was an evil wolf..." Tsume corrected. "Well, we're not gonna' get anywhere pondering the situation..." Hige replied, "Com'n you guys're all digging into this way too much, we may never even see this guy again..." Blue commented. They walked along in their human forms, no one noticed when Myu began to cling to Kiba's arm. No one also noticed the sweatdrop and reddening on Kiba's face. What made it amazing is they were all walking along behind him and no one noticed the cat leaning on the wolf. He pulled his arm out of her grip, trying not to hurt her. It was too late by the time his arm came out of her arms. The hurt in her eyes was obvious even though she only continued to walk along at his side. He could sense her disappointment, it made him uncomfortable as well. "Myu, I-I'm sorry... I just don't feel comfortable being embraced like that... Not so soon after..." Kiba apologized. She looked disappointed but seemed to understand what he meant.

As night turned to day, the pack slowed from exhaustion. "I sure miss that hotel room..." Hige commented. He went ignored though, or no one cared to respond. They had finally settled into a campsite, building a campfire to warm themselves by. Kiba was one of the first to doze off, that's when the dream took shape and away from his current reality.

In this dream he heard a voice; as clear as day, more distant than last time, and with it came a familiar scent. Then she came, Cheza like a vision from the past. He could smell her scent. "Kiba, I'm sorry I had to leave you... I was meant only to guide you to Paradise..." she explained. "What do you mean?" he asked. "There's something else I'm supposed to do... I supposed to tell you, you hold the future of that world. Or rather your offspring... You have met the girl I sent there for you right?" she asked. Kiba took on a surprised look; Myu was what Cheza had been talking about! "Does this actually mean that I am to take a feline as my mate?" he wondered. "Yes, that is true..." Cheza replied, "Though it pains me still to have to give you away, I am dead and there's nothing I can do... Embracing her will make you happier than holding to my memory..." "Wait, I'm a wolf, she's a lynx! There's no way there could be a hybrid!" he retorted. "You have to remember, Kiba, this is Paradise... Every creature can berth hybrids here..." she explained, "I'm out of time, it's morning already... This is the last time I can talk to you... Good-bye Kiba..." she bidded as she fadded away into the darkness of his dreams.

He awoke to find himself still laying by the smoldering ashes of the previous night's fire. Oddly enough, everyone else had been up long before him. They were wondering about going about morning rituals. He began to stand up in his human form, strangely enough Cher was the first to greet him. "Good morning Kiba, sleep well?" she asked. "As well as could be expected..." he trailed off without much of a thought. "You look a bit green so to speak, are you feeling alright?" she asked. "Just fine... How're the others?" he replied. "Com'n now, you should rest! You do everything for us, we're not pups we can take care of ourselves... Besides you're not a superhero, you can't always do everything..." she tried to ease him. "It's my responsibility to protect, provide for, and watch after my pack... I am the pack-leader after all, until I'm sure a member of my pack can stand on his own feet, I will watch out for them..." he argued, "You and your mate Hubb are no exception..." Kiba walked past her and examined his pack-mates as they went about their daily business. Hige and Blue flirted shamelessly already, Myu sat lazily in a tree, Queant was still in his alcohol-induced slumber, Tsume had sat alone as he always did, Toboe was staring at the sky wondering about something, Hubb was getting a drink out of a nearby pond. Kiba took a 'patrol' around the campsite, making sure every packmember was there and accounted for. When he found everything alright he laid down again, his head was swimming again. As the group was settling down that night Toboe heard a high-pictch noise and saw a feint light on the horizon. He thought about it for a second and seemed to realize something. "Uh-oh..." he muttered under his breath.


	4. Mystery Hotel Part 1

It was late perhaps around midnight, but Toboe couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned but now sleep would come to the weary young wolf. Finally he got sick of it and stood up in the dim moonlight. He walked over to Kiba and prodded him a bit with his paw. "Hey Kiba, wake up... I need to talk to you..." the pup shook the pack leader violently until he stirred. "Do you have any idea what time it is, pup?" Kiba asked yawning. "No, but I can't sleep..." he started. "So that means that no one else can?" Kiba interrupted. "That's not it!" Toboe defended, "It's just I thought you would know something about what I'm going through... I keep hearing this high-pitch noise and there's this light on the horizon... Something is telling me to go to that light. I know it sounds wierd, but..." After listening to the youngest member of his pack for a few moments Kiba began to seriously think about what he was going through. "You're having a premonition..." Kiba explained, "It's not a normal thing, most wolves can't get premonitions... You and I are a rare case, tomorrow we'll follow your premonitionand and see where it leads, ok? For now, try to get some sleep..." "Ok, thanks Kiba..." Toboe said curling up and drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

Morning came just as it was expected to. "Time is meaningless here..." Kiba thought, "Time is infinite here..." That day Toboe let his instinct carry him, his head was clear of all thoughtsa but one. "I must find whatever it is that calls to me..." Everyone else pondered on what Kiba was thinking letting the youngest of them lead. Everyone except the old man who was being carried by Hubb, because he was only two days into a week-long drunken sleep. Hubb mumbled under his breath about carrying the loudly snoring drunk old man. Instead of finding a city though at the end of Toboe's search they found a rather large house. As they approached it, they met with a sign that read, "Paradise Hotel" Kiba decided they would check into this large hotel and stay the night. The inn had been transformed from an old mansion, shivers ran up and down Toboe's spine. The old corridor though nicely decorated and in good condition was creepy. The walls were decorated with things you would expect to find in a creepy old mansion; paintings that seemed to follow you, knight statues that looked as if they would come at you. Toboe surpressed a shiver, doubtless Hige would never let him live it down if he found out the younger wolf was scared. Toboe stopped in front of another guest's room, he knew someone was in there, he could hear voices. One voice was distantly familiar but he could trace it. The door glowed and the same shrill noise he had heard the night before resonated loudly from behind it.

Hige approached him saying something he couldn't make out. He reached for the doorknob before he knew what he was doing. "Hey Pup, whaddya' think your doin'?" Hige asked laying a hand on Toboe's shoulder. Toboe returned to his 'normal' self, he shook his head and put a hand on it. He looked at the door, it still glowed dimly but there was no sound. As it turned out the pack was staying in the room next door. Toboe saw that the rest of them had resumed beast form and were watching a movie on TV. He didn't say anything and curled up on the floor to go to sleep once back in his own beast form. "Hey, aren't ya' gonna' watch the movie with us, Pup?" Hige asked. "No thanks, I think I'll just go strait to sleep..." Toboe replied. He slept fitfully and could quite make out the nightmare he was having. He was running away from something, and it chased him ferverously. When he turned his head to look he couldn't anything but a dark shadow coming at him. The shadow caught hold of him, but he didn't feel the pain of terror, whatever it was didn't try to hurt him it was caressing his fur softly.

When he awoke the dream had faded from his memories. The light of a bright and sunny day blasted in from a window, he looked around the room. Everyone else had gone off without him. There was a note on one of the beds. "Toboe, we haven't left without you. We're wondering about the hotel, we'll all come back to the room and check out tomorrow. See ya' soon, Kiba..." the note read. He picked up an extra key to the room that had been left by the TV for him and left the room. His premonition chose that moment to flare up again, he quickly locked the door and chase after it as fast as he could with no idea what he was looking for. The hotel was huge with thousands of rooms, he checked all of the public access rooms; the library, the dining hall, the lobby, game room. He found only his own companions; Hubb and Cher were in the library, Hige and Blue were in the dining hall, Tsume Kiba and Miyu were in the game room. He had heard there was a bar, but since he was a minor he couldn't go in, he figured he'd only find Queant anyway.

He had finally gone out the back door into the courtyard and sat down on the steps leading up to the huge building panting. He was just about to give up when he heard some voices. "Leara, don't forget we're in court three!" someone shouted. "Ok..." a familiar voice called back as it approached him. He looked up not believing what he had just heard. There she stood, just as she had before. She had also caught sight of him and recognized him as well. "Toboe!" she shouted. "Leara!" he cried. After a little while they had toold her friends they were going for a walk and began to trot around the courtyard. "I guess I'm the one that mixed up now, huh?" she asked. "If that's true, the the whole world's mixed up..." he responded. They stopped and turned to look at each other. "Toboe..." she started as she changed her form to that of a young white and cream colored wolf, "...I've become this..." "It's not a bad thing in this world, Leara... Everyone is either a canine or a feline in disguise here..." he tried to comfort her. "I know, my friends I've only had since I came to this world. It's a self-help group, we're just a bunch of puppies and kittens so we travel together and help each other, until we're old enough to take care of each other or we find another group to take us in..." she explained. "Well, you don't have to be in that group anymore! You can come with us!" he barked excitedly. She considered it for a few moments before finally agreeing to at least meet the other members of the pack Toboe belonged to.

The two spent the whole day together, not really talking or doing much of anything just being around one another. By eavning they were back at the pack's room. "That's really wierd, my group's rom is right next door..." she stated. He turned and looked at her quizzically. She merely smiled at him meekly and walked in after he had opened the door. "Hey Pup, didja' pick yourself up a girlfriend?" Hige asked teasingly. "Hige..." Toboe growled warningly. Hige laughed and only continued to tease Toboe until Blue popped him upside his head and told him to be nice. Tsume recognized her immediately. "Kiba, you can't let her join..." he whispered. "If she's with Toboe, she can come with us... That's all I'm going to say about it..." Kiba retorted with a slight smile. Kiba opened the door to the balcony and left the room saying, "I need to be alone with my thoughts for a while..." Myu simply mewed in confusion about Leara, but decided that if she could get along with Blue and Cher she'd have no problems with Leara. Hige regarged the matter seriously for a second, shrugged, then resumed his jovial ways. Queant was snoring drunkly after spending too much time in the aforementioned bar. Hubb was asleep as well with no fault from alcohol of any kind. Cher was nowhere to be seen but the sound of a shower being heard through a wall came to everyone's ears. Blue was watching Hige like a hawk, something he seemed to be very nervous about. Tsume decided to go for a walk and walked out of the hotel room. Toboe and Leara passed out quickly as soon as they had laid down. That's when Myu took the time to sniff over Leara carefully. "She's a child..." Myu thought before looking at Toboe, "They both are, I guess it's a good thing that Toboe has someone his own age to be around..." The small lynx smiled before moving steathily back to her own spot on one of the beds. Toboe had another restless night, though, the shadow that had appeared in his dreams appeared to him again. This time he was back in the old lady's house, sitting beside a rocking chair in front of a fire. Instead of the old lady though the black shadow sat rubbing his head gently. As the pack slept a black shadow had really wondered into the room and was watching Toboe sleep. In a raspy voice it called to him, "Toboe... Toboe... Toboe..." By morning Toboe was sure whatever this shadow was it had been in the room the previous night, but he said nothing about it. "Hey where's Tsume?" Kiba asked looking around. "I guess he never came back..." Hige said thoughtfully. Thinking any explaination he offered would be dismissed as the wildly active imagination of a young boy Toboe kept his mouth shut. "Spread out, search the entire hotel for Tsume! Inform the hotel staff of our missing pack-member!" Kiba commanded. The pack split up and rushed about the mansion searching everywhere for Tsume. All day they searched and couldn't find their missing pack member in any room. Strangers let them into their rooms to search for packmember. Still at the end of the day no sign of Tsume. "We're not leaving without Tsume!" Kiba commanded as they settled into their room to drift back to sleep.


End file.
